After All These Years
by disneygirl1937
Summary: Makoto was happily married with a daughter, but he is now widowed. While on a walk through the park with his daughter, he runs into an old acquaintance. This surprise meeting suddenly rekindles all of the feelings Makoto used to have for him. Is it finally time to move on?
1. Prologue

Makoto hadn't even thought about romance since Chigusa had passed. He had loved her more than he knew he was capable of. When she gave birth to their daughter, he loved their baby even more than he thought he could. They named her Aiko, so that their powerful love would live on through their precious child.

Chigusa had passed away when Aiko was only a year old. Makoto was devastated. The one person that he loved more than anything was gone from his life. He would never hear her hearty laugh again, nor would he get to see the mischievous sparkle in her pale green eyes. He would never be able to brush her beautiful brown hair out of her face, or watch as her warm smile would light up a room.

As Aiko grew, Makoto was blessed to see that she was a spitting image of her mother. She shared the same bubbly personality, bright smile, and pale green eyes. He felt as if he had a mini Chigusa with him at all times. The love that he felt for his sweet daughter only grew as each day passed.

Aiko loved nature, much to Makoto's pleasure. She would make her father get up early every morning and go for long walks through the park with her. When she turned three years old, Aiko begged Makoto to teach her how to swim. She yearned to swim backstroke, just like her father had years ago. Her love and excitement for life gave Makoto absolute joy.

The idea of love and a relationship has never occurred to Makoto in the two years since his wife died. Why now, as his daughter plays with a familiar stranger's dog, is his heart suddenly beating faster? Is he finally ready to move on?


	2. Chapter 1

Makoto was jolted awake by Aiko jumping up and down next to his pillow.

"Daddy! Daddy, wake up!" Aiko shouted, flopping herself down on top of Makoto. "It's time to go to the park daddy!"

"Okay, Aiko. Okay. Give daddy a minute to get ready, okay?" Makoto rubbed his eyes and rolled on his back to face his daughter. She crossed her arms and pouted at him, refusing to get off of him.

"You better promise, daddy." Aiko grumbled through pouting lips.

"I promise Aiko. You can even help daddy get dressed, okay?" Makoto said as he lifted Aiko off of his lap and got out of bed. She jumped from the bed and ran to Makoto's closet, pulling out the first thing she saw. He sighed when he turned to see a bright orange shirt and green gym shorts thrown onto the bed. Aiko grinned up at him with a plotting sparkle in her eyes.

"Very funny. How about this?" Makoto laughed, pulling a pair of blue jeans and a green tee shirt from the closet. "Is this acceptable for you?"

"Fine, daddy. Can we go now?" Aiko complained, stomping her foot.

"Be patient Aiko, five more minutes."

Five minutes later, Aiko bounded out the front door with Makoto trailing close behind. He quickly locked the door and ran to catch up with his daughter. The two walked to the park together, Makoto holding his daughter's small hand in his own. They walked along the dirt path and pointed at the occasional bird and squirrel that raced by them across the path. Their surroundings were quiet, which was just the way they liked it. There was never anyone at the park at this hour, Aiko always woke up with the sunrise. This time, however, they were surprised by the sound of a dog barking. Aiko lit up with excitement at the sound, and ran towards it, dragging her father along behind her. She sprinted as fast as she could, quickly approaching the sound of the dog.

"Aiko, slow down honey! You're going to pull my arm off!" Makoto laughed. Finally, Aiko caught up to the dog, and grinned widely up at the startled owner of the dog.

Makoto glanced up at the owner of the dog and his breath caught in his chest. In front of him stood one of the most gorgeous men he had ever seen. His pulse quickened and he could feel his face grow hot. He hadn't experienced this feeling since Chigusa, and he became increasingly flustered by the foreign sensation.

He smiled warmly at the stranger. "I'm so sorry to bother you on your walk, but would it be alright if my daughter pet your dog? She positively loves animals." Makoto glanced between his daughter and the man nervously.

"Yeah, sure. No problem." The man responded in a voice that sounded deep and uninterested. Makoto took advantage of the time his daughter spent with the dog to study the owner. He had dark hair that hung in face and the most piercing blue eyes Makoto had ever seen. He was lean and built, wearing tight jeans and a fitted blue shirt. He had a light blue hoodie on over the tee with the sleeves rolled up just enough to show off his arm muscles. Makoto took a deep breath and glanced back at his daughter in hopes to slow the beating of his heart down.

"Hey, you look kind of familiar. Have we met before?" The stranger asked as he studied Makoto.

"Oh. I'm not sure." Makoto laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Umm, I went to Iwatobi High School?"

"That must be it. I did too. You're…?"

"Makoto Tachibana."

"Oh, that's right. You dated Chigusa Hanamura." The man mumbled something under his breath that Makoto didn't quite catch.

"Yeah, I did. We ended up getting married, but she passed two years ago." Makoto revealed, smiling sadly at his former classmate.

"Oh. I'm really sorry." The man looked apologetically at Makoto and gave him a sympathetic pat on the back.

"It's alright, thanks. Anyway, I didn't catch your name." Makoto said, looking down at his feet to hide his nerves.

"Right. Haruka Nanase. I was on the swim team."

Haruka Nanase. Now Makoto remembered everything. Haruka was the brooding swimmer that Makoto had quite the crush on during their first year of high school. He was dark, mysterious, handsome, and he attracted Makoto like a moth to a flame. He never built up the courage to talk to Haruka, though, so the crush died out. Shortly after, he met Chigusa and every other person he had met melted away. But Chigusa was gone, and he knew it was time to move on.

"Yes, I remember. Haruka. You're a truly gifted swimmer, I used to love to go to the competitions. Chigusa loved it too, and Gou used to drag her along all the time." Makoto sighed at the memory and chuckled to himself. The three of them used to have so much fun together.

"Daddy! Daddy look, the doggy is licking me!" Aiko shouted, pulling Makoto out of his trance.

"Yes sweetheart, I see that." Makoto said to her, smiling. He looked back up at Haruka and realized he hadn't introduced them yet. "Oh, I forgot! Aiko," he knelt down to eye level with his daughter. "This is Haruka, he's an old friend of daddy's. Haruka, this is Aiko. My daughter."

"Hi Haruka!" Aiko excitedly shouted, flashing an enormous smile up at her father's old classmate.

Makoto watched as Haruka's entire demeanor softened and the tiniest hint of a smile teased at his lips. "Hi Aiko, you have a lovely name. It's very nice to meet you. You look just like your mom." Aiko blushed and looked away. Haruka laughed at her reaction and turned back to Makoto. "Well it was nice to run into you, maybe we can meet up sometime and catch up. I have to get going. Bye Makoto, bye Aiko."

"Bye Haruka," Makoto said, smiling. Aiko repeated after her father and waved goodbye to her new friend. They both watched as Haruka broke into a jog and disappeared down the path.

"He was nice, daddy. I liked him. Can we see him again?" Aiko reached up and tugged at Makoto's hand. She pushed out her bottom lip into a pout when he made eye contact with her.

"Sure, sweetheart. We can definitely see him again." Makoto smiled down at his daughter and turned his gaze back to where they last saw Haruka. Makoto hoped with all of his heart that he would see Haruka again. He squeezed his daughter's hand and the pair began to walk back home.


	3. Chapter 2

The next few days were filled with an anxious anticipation as Makoto and Aiko took their walk in the park and hoped to run into their new friend. They walked in silence and listened intently for the sounds of a dog barking in the stillness of the morning. Three days passed in which they didn't find the dog or it's handsome owner in the park. On the fourth day, Aiko held her father's hand and hung her head in defeat. Makoto gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, just as the sound of a bark echoed through the trees. Aiko's head shot up and her face broke out into a glowing smile. She sprinted toward the sound, pulling Makoto along with her.

Aiko sharply turned a corner and bumped right into Haruka's back. The force of the bump caused her to fall back and Makoto caught her and lifted her back onto her feet in one swift movement.

Haruka whipped around and opened his mouth to shout but stopped the second he saw big green eyes staring up at him. His aggressive expression immediately melted away into a small smile.

"Oh Aiko! What a pleasant surprise! It's wonderful to see you again." Haruka knelt down to Aiko's eye level.

"What do you mean surprise? We walk here every morning!" She reached up with her free hand and poked Haruka in the nose. "Daddy and I have been waiting for you to come!"

Makoto's face immediately burst into a blush. He tried to recover what his daughter had just blurted out but was so flustered he could barely form words. "Aiko, honey, thats not, I mean, I-"

"Well what a coincidence." Haruka cut off Makoto's unintelligible rambling and poked Aiko right back. "I was hoping I would run into you both too. Actually," he turned his gaze up to Makoto. "I was going to invite you both out for some tea after your walk, if you'd like."

"Yes!" Aiko shouted, throwing her arms around Haruka excitedly. He gently returned the embrace.

Makoto laughed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "So I guess that means we'll be joining you then. Shall we head to the café?"

"What about your walk?" Haruka looked up at Makoto and his heart nearly burst in his chest.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Now that Aiko's seen you she's not going to let go of you."

"Alright. Well then we can start walking over. Is that okay Aiko?" Haruka stood up and looked down at her.

"Let's go!" Aiko grabbed Haruka's hand and started to walk. Haruka and Makoto shared a glance and the three started off toward the café.

"So Haruka, when did you start swimming?" Makoto asked as he blew the steam off the top of his teacup.

"I've always liked it, but when I was in elementary school I joined the Iwatobi Swim Club and swam in competitions." Haruka responded, watching Aiko play with the dog.

"Really? I swam at Iwatobi when I was a kid, too." Makoto smiled and turned towards Haruka.

"What? Are you serious? Oh wait, I think I remember you. Backstroke, right?"

"Yeah! I never swam in any serious races and I gave it up after junior high, but I had a lot of fun doing it." Makoto gazed into Haruka's piercing blue eyes and instantly felt his pulse quicken.

"Oh. Well from what I remember, we would have been lucky to have you on the team in high school. You were great." Haruka sipped from his tea and stared right back at Makoto.

Makoto gulped and his stomach churned. He took a sip of his tea and stared into the cup nervously. He knew what he wanted to say, but he was concerned that he couldn't say it. He shot a glance over at Aiko and she was still distracted with the dog. Now was his chance.

"So Haruka, I was wondering," he started nervously, speaking quickly and anxiously. "I've really enjoyed catching up, and you've been so good to Aiko. Anyway, I was curious if maybe you would want to go out with me sometime? It doesn't have to be anything fancy, I just like spending time with you and…" He looked up from his tea at Haruka to gauge his reaction. Haruka raised his eyebrows and took a sip of his tea.

"Yeah, that sounds like it would be fun."

"Wait, really?" Makoto could feel excitement welling up inside of him.

"Yeah. Here, give me your number." Haruka handed his cellphone over to Makoto. Makoto typed his contact information into the phone and handed it back. "I'll give you a call and we can set something up."

"Great. Awesome. Wow, fantastic." Makoto stammered. He knew he had a stupid smile plastered across his face and he didn't care in the slightest. Haruka snickered and stared into Makoto's eyes. Makoto noticed a very slight pink tinting Haruka's cheeks.

"Daddy!" Aiko shouted, once again breaking the silence between the two men. "Daddy, my tea is too hot." She pushed her teacup over to her father.

"Okay honey." Makoto picked up the cup and blew on Aiko's tea for her and blew on it.

"Hold on, I'll be right back." Haruka stood up and disappeared into the café. He returned a minute later with a cup of ice. "Okay Aiko, I'm going to show you my secret."

"Ooh, I love secrets!" Aiko giggled, clapping her hands together and bouncing in her seat.

"If you put a couple of these into your tea, it cools it down a lot faster than if your dad blows on it." Haruka said, dropping two ice cubes into her tea. The two watched intently as the ice melted into the tea. "Give that a try." Haruka pushed the cup over to Aiko.

She picked up the cup and took a huge gulp of tea. "Oh perfect! Thank you very much Haru-chan."

Makoto snorted into his tea and laughed when he heard Aiko call Haruka chan. "Ah, getting personal are we Aiko?"

"It's alright. I don't mind Haru-chan. But only cuties like you get to call me that." Haruka poked Aiko on the cheek and shot a glance at Makoto. He looked back at Haruka confused, until he understood what Haruka had said to him. A deep red spread across his cheeks.

"So umm, Aiko sweetheart, it's time for us to head home. Say goodbye to Haru-chan and the doggie, okay?" Makoto almost choked on Haruka's name.

"Aww, can't we stay a little longer?" Aiko pushed out her bottom lip into a pout.

"I'm afraid not honey."

"Haru-chan, walk with us!" Aiko turned her pout from her father to Haruka.

"Aiko, Haruka is very busy I'm sure. We can't ask him to-"

"Okay, I'll walk with you. I've got plenty of time." Haruka sipped the last of his tea and stacked his empty cup underneath Aiko's.

Makoto sighed and stacked his empty cup underneath the others. "You know Aiko, one day that cute little pout of yours isn't going to work anymore." Aiko grinned mischievously up at her father and jumped off of her chair to grab Haruka's hand.

"Come on Haru-chan. Let's go!" Aiko started to sprint, dragging Haruka and his dog behind her.

"Aiko!" Makoto shouted after his daughter, running after her and Haruka.

Aiko tugged at Haruka's shirt and giggled the whole way home. She pointed out every single animal that she saw, poked at Haruka, pulled at the dog's leash, and never stopped talking the entire time. Makoto wondered how Haruka hadn't snapped yet. He was incredibly patient with Aiko, and Makoto was incredibly grateful. He walked behind the two, taking in the sight of Aiko hanging on Haruka. He couldn't help but imagine the three of them as a family. He could picture the three of them walking hand in hand through the park, or splashing each other at the beach. He sighed and smiled warmly at the idea. Haruka glanced back and met Makoto's smile with a small one of his own before returning his attention back to Aiko.

Before long, the three were standing at the front door of Makoto and Aiko's house. Aiko pouted, per the usual. She threw her arms around Haruka's legs and refused to move.

"Aiko, come on honey. Haru has to go." Makoto reached down and pulled his daughter off of Haruka's legs. He picked her up and held her against his hip. "Thank you for today, Haru. It was really nice."

"Yeah, anytime." Haruka turned to walk away. "I'll call you later." With that, he started to walk off.

Makoto and Aiko waved goodbye, and turned to walk into the house.

"Hey Daddy, what did Haru-chan mean when he said he'll call later?"

"Oh. I. Umm…."


End file.
